THE ELi;CT|10N Ul 
WILLIAM; Hf llAXWELL «« 
riT^ SUPERINTENDENT 

■/ S(p:HQ^'^ EMERITUS. 
rillt CIT^ ui NEW YORK 



K/^^ 



\. 



PRINTED BY THK B0I8 OF THE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL 

Fifth Avenue and 138 St.. N. Y. 



^>^ THE ELECTION OF 
WILLIAM H. MAXWELL «« 
CITY SUPERINTENDENT 
of SCHOOLS EMERITUS, 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



1918 






OCT 



: ^^ JD, 



19 



i9lB 



CONTENTS 

Prefatory letter _________ 3 

Act of the Legislature _______ 5 

Address of the President of the Board of 

Education _________ 9 

Action of the Board of Education _ _ _ _ 15 

Minute of the Board of Education _ _ _ 19 
Resolution of the Board of Estimate and 

Apportionment ________ 25 

Minutes and Resolutions ______ 29 

Letters_ ___________ 35 

Editorial comments ________ 63 



Prefatory Letter 

New York, March 4th, 1918. 
To My Friends: 

Owing to a protracted and severe illness, which 
rendered necessary two serious surgical operations, I 
found myself, at the beginning of the year 1918, with 
my physical strength impaired to such an extent that I 
felt unequal to performing adequately the duties of 
Superintendent of Schools in The City of New York. 
Hence, though I lacked four years of the statutory age 
of compulsory retirement, {70), I applied, through 
President Arthur S. Somers, to the Board of Education, 
for retirement on such terms as that body should deem 
appropriate. 

The Board of Education, acting under a statute 
passed in 1917 by the New York Legislature, granted 
my request and unanimously elected me City Superin- 
tendent of Schools Emeritus, at Jie full salary I had 
been receiving as Superintendent of Schools, $10,000 
per annum, for the duration of my life. This action 
of the Board of Education was later unanimously ap- 
proved by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

Believing that you will share with me my gratitude 
to the educational and financial authorities of The City 
of New York, and that you will regard their action as 
a tribute to the profession of teaching, I beg leave to lay 
before you, in the accompanying pages, the formal pro- 
ceedings taken by the various bodies involved, some of 
the comments by leading newspapers and by educational 
journals, and some representative letters and resolutions 
of commendation selected frofn the great number I have 

received. 

Faithfully yours, 




\ Hl^ic^A^ 



City Superintendent of Schools Emeritus 



ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE 



Act of the Legislature creating the office of 

City Superintendent of Schools Emeritus 

for The City of Ncav York 

Chapter 621 

An Act to amend the Greater New York charter, 
by creating the position of city superintendent of 
schools emeritus. 

Became a law May 22, 1917, with the approval 
of the Governor. 

Passed, three-fifths being present. Accepted by 
the City. 

The People of the State of New York, represented 
in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. The Greater New York charter, as 
re-enacted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six 
of the laws of nineteen hundred and one, is hereby 
amended by adding thereto a new section, to be 
section ten hundred and seventy-nine-a, to read as 
follows: 

CITY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS EMERITUS 

§ 1079-a. The board of education is authorized 
to appoint at any time a city superintendent of 



schools emeritus whose duty it shall be to consult 
and advise with the educational officials as and when 
necessary. No person shall be eligible for appoint- 
ment as city superintendent of schools emeritus 
unless he shall have served as city superintendent 
of schools of the city of New York for at least fifteen 
years. The city superintendent of schools emeritus 
shall receive for the duration of his life such an 
annual salary as the board of education and the board 
of estimate and apportionment shall determine at 
the time of his appointment, but he shall not receive 
an annuity from the public school teachers' retire- 
ment fund or any other pension fund of the city of 
New York. The salary of the city superintendent 
of schools emeritus shall be included each year in 
the annual budget as part of the general school fimd. 
§ 2. This act shall take effect July first, nineteen 
hundred and seventeen. 



ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF 
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION 



Address of Honorable Arthur S. Somers, 

President of the Board of Education 

of The City of Ne^v York, before 

the Board of Education, 

January 30, 1918 

Ladies and Gentlemen: I desire today to 
call your attention to a matter of such importance 
that I believe it to be now controlling. 

When this Board came into existence, it found 
itself tace to face with the necessity for a complete 
reorganization of various departments, for the pur- 
pose of bringing the work formerly performed by a 
larger Board within the scope of the Board as at pre- 
sent constituted. In accepting the responsibility 
imposed upon us, we declared for a definite adminis- 
tration of the professional and business control of the 
Department. We have been concerned with the 
need for such control as will accomplish our ends, to 
wit, the establishment of sound business practices 
that will enable those charged with professional re- 
sponsibilities to carry on the work of the schools, and 
serve the best interests of our children. There is a 
pressing need for a responsible administration of the 
educational functions of this Department, and it is 
to this need I wish to call attention. 



11 



As you are aware, in April, 1915, Dr. William H, 
Maxwell, City Superintendent of Schools, was strick- 
en with a serious illness. Since that time he has 
struggled with wonderful courage and vitality to 
win back his full health and vigor. The previous 
Board of Education extended to him every help, in the 
hope that he might win the fight he was making. 
From time to time he has been granted a leave of 
absence, and returned to duty for brief periods only 
to find himself unable to participate actively in the 
management and conduct of his high office. 

Dr. Maxwell recognizes that his gradual recovery 
of health is too slow to warrant the expectation of 
return to active service in the immediate future, and 
he recognizes also that the work requires the presence 
of an active and energetic man. 

In 1917 the State Legislature passed a law em- 
powering the Board of Education to elect a City 
Superintendent of Schools Emeritus, to receive for 
the duration of his life such an annual salary as the 
Board of Education and the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment shall determine at the time of his 
appointment. The time is at hand when I believe 
that this Board should take advantage of the author- 
ity vested in it by law to create this position and elect 
Dr. Maxwell to fill it. 

Dr. Maxwell has been Superintendent of Schools 
since 1898, when the Greater City was created. Prior 
to that time he served as Superintendent of Schools 
of the City of Brooklyn. In all, he has served more 
than thirty-five years in the Department of Educa- 



12 



tion, and this extraordinary service is one of which 
the City may well be proud. To him more than any 
other man or woman is due the full measure of credit 
for relieving the schools of political influence and 
making possible the appointment of principals and 
teachers from eligible lists in order of merit. He has 
done more. His remarkable genius for administra- 
tion made possible the centralization and reorgan- 
ization of the public school system in 1902. He has 
fought for many years for enriched schooling for the 
children. He has developed manual training in- 
struction, music, drawing, physical training, ungrad- 
ed classes for the care of defective children, classes 
for blind children, and other special subjects that will 
long live as a credit to his wonderful and unselfish 
force. He is responsible for the development of 
secondary education in the City, for improved meth- 
ods of training teachers, for better school buildings, 
and for the creation of a public demand for proper 
accommodation of children. 

I might go on indefinitely and recite many fine 
contributions he has made to public education. He 
is entitled, because of what he has done in the interest 
of public education, to the highest appreciation of 
the citizens of our City, and I believe that, for what 
he has given to our schools, his election as Superin- 
tendent Emeritus at his present full salary will merit 
enthusiastic approval. If elected to that position, he 
will not sever his connection with the public schools. 
We shall have the power, and I believe we shall ex- 
ercise it, of calling upon him at any time for advice 



13 



and help in the solution of important problems. It 
is an honor well deserved by him, and a rare privilege 
to be permitted to bestow upon one so worthy this 
distinction of merit. 

I therefore recommend, ladies and gentlemen, 
that this Board now create the position of City Super- 
intendent of Schools Emeritus, and that Dr. Maxwell 
be elected to that position at full salary, in accordance 
with the provisions of Law and subject to the ap- 
proval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, 
to take effect February Uth. 

I recommend further that, if this be done, the 
Board of Education designate an Associate Super- 
intendent, as Acting Superintendent of Schools, and 
that the Board immediately take under consideration 
the question of selecting a Superintendent of Schools 
to succeed Dr. Maxwell. 



14 



ACTION OF THE BOARD OF 
EDUCATION 



Action of The Board of Education 
January 30, 1918 

Mr. Ryan offered a motion that the position of 
City Superintendent of Schools Emeritus, in accord- 
ance with the provisions of Chapter 621 of the Laws 
of 1917, be created, and that Dr. William H. Max- 
well be elected to fill the position at an annual 
salary of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), subject to 
the concurrence of the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Murray 
and Mr. Yeska and was adopted unanimously. 



17 



MINUTE OF THE BOARD OF 
EDUCATION 



Minute Offered by the Honorable Frank D. 

Wilsey, Chairman of Special Committee, 

and Unanimously Adopted in the 

Board of Education on March 

twelfth, 1918 

Dr. William H. Maxwell, Superintendent of 
Schools, tendered his resignation to the Board of 
Education to take effect on February eleventh last, 
when he accepted appointment to the office of City 
Superintendent of Schools Emeritus. He withdrew 
from active service that extended over a period of 
more than thirty -five years, but he still is subject to 
call by this Board for advice and help in the solution 
of problems that confront it. In recognition of 
this long, faithful, and notable service, your Com- 
mittee presents for adoption this minute of tribute: 

Dr. William H. Maxwell, first and only City 
Superintendent of Schools of The City of New York, 
was elected to office by the first Board of Education 
of the Greater City and began service on March 15, 
1898. He was re-elected in 1904, in 1910, and in 1916. 
Before this he had served from October 3, 1882, to 
September 6, 1887, as Associate Superintendent of 
Public Instruction in the City of Brooklyn and from 



21 



the latter date until March 15, 1898, as Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction in the same city. 
This is a record of continuous service in the cause of 
public instruction in cities of the country that is 
noteworthy. 

In that time he was the dominant figure in the 
complete reorganization of the school systems of 
the various communities consolidated into The City 
of New York, and worked with courage, vigor, and 
determination to place the schools of this city in 
the foremost rank among the public schools of the 
country. How well he succeeded, the record of the 
public schools demonstrates. In this brief minute 
it is not possible to recount all the achievements of 
the public school system while he served as Super- 
intendent. To summarize them, your Committee 
quotes from the address delivered by President 
Arthur S. Somers on January 30th of this year, when 
he moved the election of Dr. Maxwell as City Super- 
intendent of Schools Emeritus: 

" In all he has served more than thirty-five years 
in the Department of Education, and this extra- 
ordinary service is one of which the city might well 
be proud. To him more than to any other man or 
woman is due the full measure of credit for relieving 
the schools of political influence and making possible 
the appointment of principals and teachers from 
eligible lists in the order of merit. He has done more. 
His remarkable genius for administration made pos- 
sible the centralization and reorganization of the 
public school system in 1902. He has fought for 



22 



many years for enriched schooling for the children. 
He has developed manual training instruction, music, 
drawing, physical training, ungraded classes for the 
care of defective children, classes for blind children, 
and other special subjects that will long live as a 
credit to his wonderful and unselfish force. He is 
responsible for the developement of secondary edu- 
cation in the City, for improved methods of training 
teachers, for better school buildings, and for the 
creation of a public demand for proper accommoda- 
tion of children." 

In all of his work, Dr. Maxwell has ever had in 
mind the better schooling of the children. He has 
been a leader among workers for more rigid compul- 
sory education laws, for ample accommodations for 
children, for a richer schooling, for smaller classes 
and for better teachers. No greater tribute to Dr. 
Maxwell could have been paid than that which is 
evident in the unanimous public approval of the 
action of the Board of Education in electing him 
Superintendent Emeritus at full salary. 

Foremost figure in the educational system of 
this City, Dr. Maxwell has exerted a powerful in- 
fluence upon education in the State and in the 
Nation. He has served in the councils of the State 
Department of Education, and has been President 
of the Department of Superintendence of the Na- 
tional Education Association, and also President of 
the National Education Association. 

In presenting this resolution to your Board, the 
members of this Committee desire to express to Dr. 



23 



Maxwell the hope that he will be spared for many 
years to consult and advise with it as Superintend- 
ent Emeritus, and we extend to him our congratu- 
lations upon the record he has made, and of which 
this report presents a brief review. In these ex- 
pressions we know all of the members will join, and 
therefore we move the unanimous adoption of this 
report and resolution: 

RESOLVED, That the foregoing be adopted 
as an expression of tribute to Dr. William H. Max- 
well, Superintendent of Schools, and now City Super- 
intendent of Schools Emeritus, and to the services 
he has rendered to the public schools of the City, 
and that an engrossed copy be transmitted to Dr. 
Maxwell. 

Frank D. Wilsey 
Anning S. Prall 
Arthur S. Somers 
SPECIAL COMMITTEE 



24 



RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF 
ESTIMATE AND APPORTIONMENT 



Resolution Adopted by Tke Board of Esti- 
mate and Apportionment February 8, 1918 



WHEREAS, The Board of Education, pursuant 
to the provisions of chapter 621 of the Laws of 1917, 
at a meeting held January 30, 1918, adopted a reso- 
lution appointing Dr. William H. Maxwell, Superin- 
tendent of Schools, to the position of City Superin- 
tendent of Schools Emeritus, and fixed the salary of 
said position at ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per 
annum, to take effect February 11, 1918, therefore 
be it 

RESOLVED, That the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment concurs in the action taken by the 
Board of Education in fixing the annual salary of the 
position of City Superintendent of Schools Emeritus 
at ten thousand dollars ($10,000). 



27 



MINUTES AND RESOLUTIONS 



Minute adopted by the Board of Examiners 

Since Dr. William H. Maxwell has, upon his 
appointment as City Superintendent of Schools 
Emeritus, definitely withdrawn from his long-con- 
tinued activities in the school system of New York, 
the Board of Examiners desires to express the feel- 
ings which all its members have, of appreciation, 
affection, and regret. 

From the organization of the Board of Exam- 
iners in September 1898 to the date of the enactment 
of the Education Law of 1917, a period of over 
eighteen years, Dr. Maxwell was our colleague and 
chairman. 

During the long period of his service as the 
administrative head of the schools of New York, 
his experience, his scholarship, his command of de- 
tails and of policies, and his wise judgment, made his 
labors as a member of this Board and of the Board of 
Superintendents, and as City Superintendent of 
Schools, actually invaluable to the cause of education 
in this city and in this countiy. 

Speaking particularly of his connection with 
the Board of Examiners, we cannot forget, nor will 
the public forget, that it is largely to him that the 



31 



present merit system in the Department of Education 
owes its origin, its sound development, and its 
strength. For some years after his appointment as 
City Superintendent, Dr. Maxwell devoted much of 
his time and attention to the work of the Board of 
Examiners, deeming that the selection of fully com- 
petent teachers and principals is a matter of prime 
importance in a system of schools. His ideals of 
thoroughness, fidelity, and justice, he impressed upon 
us all, and upon the whole educational department. 
His extraordinary mental clearness and his power of 
solving difficult questions of policy, were recognized 
by all who had to do with him. 

But at this time we would speak rather of the 
personal than of the official side of our relation with 
him, though it is difficult to express in adequate 
terms our sense of deep regard, respect, and affection. 
Notwithstanding the strength and firmness of his 
mind and character. Dr. Maxwell has always been 
known to us as a man of a kind and generous nature, 
appreciative of every honest effort, and open-minded 
to every sincere opinion of his colleagues. Close 
association with him during these years has been a 
privilege for which we cannot fully express our grati- 
tude. Now that the hour of official parting from him 
has come, we are filled with countless recollections 
that must always cause us to love and honor him. 

James C. Byrnes 
Walter L. Hervey 
Jerome A. O'Connell 
George J. Smith 



32 



Resolution adopted by the Department of Superin- 
tendence, National Education Association, 
March 1, 1918, at its meeting in 
Atlantic City 



Resolved, That we note with extreme satis- 
faction the high standard of professional recognition 
fixed by the Board of Education of New York City, 
in the generous treatment which it accorded Super- 
intendent William H. Maxwell, who for many years 
rendered distinguished service in this department. 
In expressing our appreciaion of the action of the 
Board of Education, we at the same time assure 
Dr. Maxwell of our pleasure that his worth has been 
so appropriately recognized. 



33 



From the clerical staff in the office of the 
Superintendent of Schools 



The members of the clerical staff who have 
served under WILLIAM H. MAXWELL, Superin- 
tendent of Schools, tender to him, upon his advance- 
ment to the rank of City Superintendent of Schools 
Emeritus, this expression of their esteem. 

We deeply regret his relinquishing active direc- 
tion of the office, for to us it has been a great priv- 
ilege to serve under so inspiring and able a leader. 

The unceasing and steadfast endeavors of the 
Superintendent to strive for the general good of the 
schools have been an inspiration to all in close con- 
tact with his work, and we are grateful that the op- 
portunity came to us to be under his direction. 

We sincerely congratulate him upon his election 
as City Superintendent of Schools Emeritus with full 
emoluments, — an honor unique in the history of our 
city, but none the less richly merited. 



34 



LETTERS 



From the Association of Women Principals 
of Tke City of New York 



The honor of being elected City Superintendent 
Emeritus of the greatest school system in the country 
has come to you, and your warm friends, the Women 
Principals, wish to extend to you their congratula- 
tions and sincere good wishes. 

We, who hold our present positions as the result 
of a system of examination and merit built up by 
you, look about us and count the many fruits of 
your years as head of the city school system and 
ofifer you our gratitude and appreciation. 

The city is wise in keeping you still first in its list 
of school officers, for while the great burden of thirty 
years of service makes active participation in man- 
agement of educational affairs too severe a strain, 
your counsel and opinion may yet guide those en- 
trusted with the accomplishment of measures pro- 
posed for the good of the children and teachers of 
New York. 

That you may be with us long in this new role of 
consulting and advising expert is. Superintendent 
Emeritus Maxwell, our sincere wish and greeting 
to you. 

Loretto M. Rochester, Secretarv- 

Jessie B. Colburn, President 



37 



From Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, President, 
Columbia University 



The morning's papers report your retirement 
yesterday as Superintendent Emeritus under the 
terms of the statute passed last winter. You have 
completed and honorably laid down one of the 
greatest and most impressive tasks in the history 
of American education. Your reputation is secure, 
and no matter what changes the future may hold 
in store, your building of the foundations of the 
public school system of the Greater City of New 
York will remain an achievement of the first rank. 

I am very glad you have thought it wise to lay 
aside your burden while there are still years of en- 
joyment lying before you. There will now come 
that leisure for reading and for reflection, in which 
you so greatly delight, and which the severe labors 
of forty years have often so sadly interrupted. 



38 



From Hon. Frederic R. Coudert, former 
member of the Board of Education 



Congratulations and regret. Congratulations 
that your great services should have been recognized 
by the governing powers as they always have been 
by the public; and regret that you should be leaving 
the active management of the schools, upon which 
you have left so indelible an impress. 

It was always a pleasure to me to be associated 
with you and I recognize what your high, firm char- 
acter and breadth of view have done for our school 
system, often indeed in the teeth of adverse circum- 
stances. You have had to deal with problems of a 
complexity, magnitude, and novelty that I am sure 
no city has ever been confronted with, and you have 
been able to cope with them successfully. 

I shall always remember with pleasure my three 
years on the Board and the agreeable relations of 
friendly cooperation with you. I wish you many 
years more of usefulness and happiness. 



39 



From District Superintendent John Dwyer 

and the Principals of School 

Districts 23 and 24 



At a recent meeting of the principals of the 
twenty-third and twenty- fourth districts in the 
ofhce of Superintendent Dwyer, your letter in regard 
to teaching choice literary selections to the pupils 
in our schools was read. It became the subject of a 
lively discussion which would have interested you. 
The discussion is to be continued at a future meeting. 

You have ever advocated standards in literature 
that are fine and high, and so it seems fitting to have 
your last message to us a reminder of the value of 
acquaintance with some of the exquisite literature 
of our language. 

In parting from you as our Superintendent, we 
wish to express to you our continued friendship, arid 
the high esteem in which we hold you. You have 
led us in lofty ideals and have not neglected to be 
our friend. We shall cherish the memory of both 
the leadership and the kindly regard. 

John Dwyer Samuel Viertel 

Elias Silberstein Anna V. Mc Carthy 

Julius Bluhm Mary A. Carr 

Hugh J. Smallen Mary A. Regan 

John King Clark Mary A. Conlon 

William A. Hannig Mary A. Curtis 

Frank A. Young Elizabeth M. Ball 

Arthur G. Gorton Ellen C. Gilbert 

Gabriel R. Mason Lida B. Earhart 
Bert P. Seelye 



40 



From Mr. James H. Edsall, District Superin- 
tendent, Districts 28 and 30 



The principals of Districts 28 and 30, assembled 
to discuss your circular letter of January 30, 1918, 
to the District Superintendents, desire to express to 
you their deep appreciation of your splendid sugges- 
tions regarding the memorizing of choice selections 
from English literature. 

Like you, we feel that it should be our duty, in 
training these boys and girls entrusted to our care, 
to provide not only for mental alertness during busi- 
ness hours, but for enjoyment and inspiration during 
their many hours of leisure. Association with good 
books and the power to recall to mind the choicest 
expressions of the master writers, must make for 
enlightened, cultured citizenship. We hope, as a 
result of our study of the outline you have given us, 
to secure in our schools a deeper love for what is 
beautiful and true in literature. 



41 



May we take this opportunity to express the 
hope that we may receive from you from time to time 
other suggestions, the fruit of your many years of 
rich experience? 



George B. Germann 
Wallace S. S. Newton 
Warren M. Van Name 
Anna L. McDevitt 
Richard F. McCormack 
Frederick W. Memmott 
Margaret Davidson 
Margaret Laing 
Frances A. Weiss 
Temperance Gray 
Minnie Q. Ledwith 



Clara C. Calkins 
Amelia Schaller 
Annie A. L. Egan 
Purvis J. Behan 
Sidney M. Fuerst 
Sarah B. Van Brunt 
Mary E. Elmore 
Margaret E. Bacon 
Edwin B. Uline 
Mary A. Conley 
Jennie M. Mackay 



42 



From Mr. William Fairley, Principal, Com- 
mercial High School, Brooklyn, and Presi- 
dent of The Association of High School 
Principals of The City of New York 



The Association of High School Principals of 
the City of New York feel deeply that your transition 
from active to emeritus rank on February 11, 1918, 
marks an epoch in our school system. The term 
emeritus in your case is rich in literal meaning. The 
city honors itself in retaining you on its rolls, in 
giving you the full emolument of your rank, and in 
reserving to itself the privilege of calling upon you 
at any time for counsel. So far as we are aware, the 
whole arrangement with and for you is unique in 
school annals. 

It would be fulsome for me to attempt to recount 
in any detail your achievements of these long years. 
Certain things, however, we cannot fail to make 
mention of. You have wrought into a splendid 
unity the most gigantic school system of the world. 
The task has been one worthy of a Kitchener. In 
doing this, your mind has not made of the child a 
mere pawn, but each one has been to you an immor- 
tal unit, with all the worth involved in such concep- 



43 



tion. For the teaching staff you have won consid- 
eration and respect in the community. Your in- 
flexible insistence upon the merit system and the 
exclusion of political influence has been magnificent. 
Your delight in battle for what you have deemed 
right has been an inspiration to us all. 

We of the secondary schools have special reason 
for gratitude to you. New York was disposed to 
look askance at high schools. Your regime has so 
fostered and developed them that henceforth any 
attempt to throttle or minimize them would provoke 
storms of resentment. You have secured for us here 
a secondary system which in many respects is re- 
garded as unequalled. 

No new Lens will ever make our educational 
Olympus seem as majestic as heretofore. We felic- 
itate you on your record, and on its recognition by 
the City, and bespeak for you long years of well 
earned and happy leisure: feeling sure that you will 
not be inactive, but always planning and urging 
forward things of highest educational value. 

May we not suggest a function of inspirational 
worth for us all: namely, that from time to time 
you visit us at our several posts of duty to counsel 
and to cheer us? You will of course continue, 
exofflcio, a member of our Association, and to have 
you with us at any of our meetings would greatly 
gratify us. 



44 



From Dr. E. J. Goodwin, President, 

Tke Packer Collegiate Institute, 

Brooklyn, N. Y. 



If I rightly remember, this is the day on which 
you retire from your long and distinguished service 
as City Superintendent of Schools of New York. 
May I extend to you my very cordial congratula- 
tions, and best wishes for complete restoration of 
health and many years of happiness? You have 
such fine achievements to look back upon, that the 
memory of them cannot fail to give you great satis- 
faction. To very few men in this country has For- 
tune granted such opportunities for eminent and 
efficient service. To no man in the country engaged 
in public school work has so much honor ever been 
due as that which comes to you today, at the end of 
your years of service and at the beginning of your 
retirement. 

I sympathize with you more today because, as 
perhaps you know, I too am on the eve of retirement 
from active service. This is my last school year. 



45 



From Mr. S. R. Guggenheim, Treasurer, 
Public Schools Athletic League 



During your active management of our public 
schools it was my privilege to have very pleasant 
relations with you in regard to the work of the Public 
Schools Athletic League. I regret therefore to 
learn from the papers that your health will not 
permit you further to continue the active direction 
of our schools. It is gratifying to note, however, 
that your long and honorable career has been fit- 
tingly recognized by the Board of Education. You 
have served us faithfully and well, and I beg to 
express the hope that you may enjoy for a great 
many years the signal and well merited honor that 
has been conferred upon you. 

I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you often, 
but in the meantime wish to convey to you my 
kindest regards and best wishes. 



46 



From Hon. Robert L. Harrison, former 
member of the Board of Education 



I cannot allow the occasion of your retiring from 
active participation in the management of the public 
school system in New York to pass, without express- 
ing to you my regret that your health compels you 
to take this step, and once more to assure you of my 
appreciation of the splendid work you have done for 
the schools of New York. I recall with much pleas- 
ure the many days and nights that we spent together 
in the early years of the late school board, in trying to 
weld together the various systems prevailing in the 
different boroughs. This task was accomplished not 
without a great deal of difficulty, so the new school 
board begins its life with no such difficulties as those 
with which you had to contend. I hope, as you have 
been relieved of your great burden, that you will 
still for years to come be able to help the authorities 
with your advice, and I hope that there will be suf- 
ficient intelligence in the board to have your advice 
followed. 



47 



From Miss Emma L. Joknston, Principal, 
Brooklyn Training Sckool for Teachers 



Accept my congratulations upon your appoint- 
ment as Superintendent Emeritus. The title will 
acquire a new meaning through your bearing it. 
You will give the office distinction. 

Even if you seem to have no very active part in 
school affairs, I believe that "What Maxwell would 
have done" will be what the authorities — and es- 
pecially your successor, whoever he may be — will 
try to determine when shaping new policies. 

The fact that you are still a part of the New 
York City school system will give that system pres- 
tige in the estimation of educational authorities in 
other places. The knowledge that your advice can 
be obtained will sustain all of us. 

Your gradual, instead of sudden, withdrawal 
from the command has proved already to be a mas- 
terly method of keeping the system controlled by 
the principles you have established. Even your suf- 
fering, you see, has contributed to your life work. 

I am saying nothing of our loss — that cannot be 
measured. 



48 



From Miss Margaret Knox, Principal of 
Public School 15, Manhattan 



Perhaps you have not missed my message; but 
I must write, if only to tell you why you have not 
heard from me. I simply could not bear to write to 
you except as the Chief of this great school system. 
I cannot bear the thought that you are no longer at 
the helm, keeping our schools steadily and surely on 
the straight voyage to the goal that places us fore- 
most among the cities of the world in the public 
education of their people. 

I have always been so proud of you and your 
great work and have felt a sort of partnership in it, 
more than the ordinary teachers of the city, because 
of our common birthplace and, I think, of more 
things than that in common. Armagh and Tyrone 
have surely given bone and sinew and brain and 
heart to much that is good in this country of our 
adoption. 



49 



Frora Mr. Charles W. Lyon, District Super- 
intendent, Districts 4 and 5 



The district superintendent and principals of 
districts 4 and 5 unanimously tender you congratu- 
lations upon your selection as Superintendent Emer- 
itus. We regard the honor conferred as a signal 
recognition and appreciation of a life's labor in and 
for the cause of education. When the municipality 
confers and the public so heartily approves this 
graceful tribute of respect and regard, it is indeed a 
happy augury that high ideals of service will inspire 
the future. 

Congratulations to you, felicitations to the 
community. 

During your Ibng incumbency of the office of 
Superintendent of Schools, so momentous have been 
the problems and so profound the change in the at- 
titude of the people to our common schools, that he 
would indeed be a bold prophet who would attempt 
to estimate their worth, for which time alone can 
furnish a true perspective. 



50 



Though relieved of the onerous and multitudi- 
nous duties of your high office, it is a pleasure to 
know that your advice and counsel will be sought as 
Superintendent Emeritus. It is with this thought 
in mind that we offer you assurances of our con- 
tinued esteem and affection. 

Mary C. Donohue Carrie E. Krowl 

Elizabeth J. Hofer Mary A. Phinney 

May Jackson Adeline E. Simpson 

C. D. Fleming Bella Strauss 

Annie M. Atkinson John F. Townley 

Sarah H. Conant Elizabeth Walker 
William A. Kottman 



51 



From Mr. C. B. J. Snyder, Arckitect, Super- 
intendent of School Buildings, The 
City of New York 



Yesterday's announcement by President Somers 
of your intended retirement from active service came 
as a distinct shock to me, as I had continued to hope 
and anticipate that your gain in health would be such 
as to enable you once more to take that control of 
affairs of which the Department stands in such need, 
particularly at this time. 

The new Board under the leadership of Mr. 
Somers, is doing wonderfully well, but it is quite plain 
that your absence fixes a limit to what it might other- 
wise accomplish. 

Few there are, I think, outside of Mr. Douglass 
and Miss Ives, who fully realize that you and I have 
worked together for twenty years without the slight- 
est hint of disagreement during all those years. In 
fact, I do not recall that an unpleasant word has ever 
passed between us. 

This period of time was not one during which 
routine governed, so that all things were made easy, 
but on the contrary, it included what was probably 



52 



the greatest piece of constructive work along educa- 
tional lines, ever known. 

My part necessarily was small as compared with 
that you had to carry out, but nevertheless our work 
was so inter-related, that there was abundant oppor- 
tunity for disagreements, and that there were none 
seems almost wholly due to that great kindliness 
and gentleness of spirit and personal courtesy which 
have so endeared you to those of us who knew you 
best. 

I sincerely trust that now you have been relieved 
of the very great burden and consequent worry, of 
active responsibility for the conduct of affairs here, 
you will find true pleasure and relaxation in an undis- 
turbed contemplation of the chaotic educational 
conditions under which we have been laboring during 
the past two years, and point the way, as only you 
may do, to the true solution of the problem. 



53 



From Mr. Henry Snyder, Superintendent 

of Public Schools, Jersey City, 

New Jersey 



I am extremely sorry that the condition of your 
health compels you to withdraw from active work. 
We have so long been accustomed to look to you for 
safe guidance and brilliant leadership in educational 
matters, that we shall long miss you. 

It is most gratifying to all your friends that New 
York City has given you phenomenal and deserved 
recognition in your retirement. May you live long 
to enjoy the honor which the city has accorded you 
and the admiration which we all have for you. 



54 



From Miss Helen A. Stein, Principal of 

Intermediate School 159, Borough of 

Manhattan 

I was a very silent member of your corps during 
your long illness, but regretted deeply your enforced 
absence even though I gave little expression to it. 

I cannot, however, allow you to retire from 
active service without thanking you for the many 
kindnesses shown me, and of assuring you of my deep 
and sincere appreciation of your wonderful leadership. 

No one who has worked under you, or mth you, 
can ever forget your ability to handle any situation, 
and your powerful mind, and no one who has been 
in the schools for years can help do other than thank 
you for their great improvement under your direction. 

May the complete rest that you may now enjoy, 
bring you renewed strength and happiness. 

If at any time you could honor our school or my 
home with your presence, I should be very grateful. 

If I can ever be of any service to you, I trust you 
may call upon me freely as a most sincere friend. 

My prayers and best wishes have always been 
yours. 



55 



From Hon. Morton Stein, former member 
of tke Board of Education 



Recently I have been thinking of you more fre- 
quently than usual, and sincerely wishing that now, 
relieved of great responsibilities and arduous details, 
you will apply yourself solely to the absolute recovery 
of your health, and that end having been accom- 
plished that you will, in the new freedom thus found, 
have opportunities for giving to our country and 
our city the benefits of your counsel and your exper- 
iences, — either by way of biography or works dealing 
with pedagogical and administrative problems. 

There should be left for the generations to come, 
who will be the losers through lack of presonal con- 
tact with you, something tangible from the hand of 
him who gave to public education in The City of New 
York its present force and direction. 

I am wishing for your speedy and complete re- 
turn to health, and trust that you will have many, 
many years of happiness and contentment as Super- 
intendent Emeritus. 



56 



From Mr. Joseph S. Taylor, District 
Superintendent Districts 14 and 18 



I cannot permit you to pass from the stage of 
active mastery in education without tendering my 
humble word of appreciation, regret, and congratu- 
lation — appreciation of your great work and what 
you have done for me individually, regret at your 
retirement and ill health, congratulation upon the 
generous provision that a grateful City has made for 
the enjoyment of your well-earned leisure. 

The history of education will in due time rank 
you among the great educators of all time, and as 
the greatest educational statesman of our day since 
Horace Mann. For permitting me to lift my head 
among my educational brethren I give you hearty 
thanks; for I am well aware that I owe my oppor- 
tunity for larger service entirely to you. At a time 
when it was fashionable to sneer at educational pro- 
gress and at progressive teachers, you encouraged 
me by giving me a chance to grow, to look up, and 
to take a small part in the great forward movement 
of which you were the centre and mainspring. 

Because of the notable service which you have 
rendered to my profession, it is painful to me to see 
you retire. 



57 



Something greatly worth while seems to have 
passed out of my ken. I have a feeling of lonesome- 
ness, as if a sure support had been withdrawn. 

Where shall we find such leadership as yours? 
Where the strength to meet and subdue the evil 
influences that ever threaten the child's welfare? 
Where the conscience, as true as the compass, that 
ever guided you through the maze of public life? 

Coupled with the feeling of regret and lone- 
liness at your going, is the consolation that your work 
remains, and that your fame is secure. The Future 
will feel about you as Lowell said he felt after one 
of Emerson's lectures — as if "something beautiful 
had passed that way." 



58 



From Mr. Joseph H. Wade, District Super- 
intendent, Districts 25 and 26 



My deep regret at the passing of your active 
leadership of our schools is tempered by the thought 
that you have been appointed to the high honor of 
Superintendent Emeritus of the public schools of 
New York City. 

You have merited in the fullest degree this re- 
cognition of the splendid work you have done for our 
city, and I wish for you many years' enjoyment of 
the leisure you have been granted by the Board of 
Education. 



59 



From Dr. Ira S. Wile, former raember of 
the Board of Education 



Your appointment as City Superintendent 
Emeritus must be hailed with satisfaction by all who 
recognize the indebtedness of the City to your broad- 
minded, conscientious, and earnest efforts in behalf 
of the boys and girls of this City. 

It is a regret that your illness has prevented you 
from continuing in active service, and there is no 
doubt that much of the confusion in the system is 
due to this fact. I trust that the school system will 
have the benefit of your counsel and advice for many 
years to come, and that the City Superintendent 
Emeritus will continue to be a prominent factor in the 
constructive work now pending. 

No words of mine can adequately express the 
deep admiration I feel for you, nor in the slightest 
way indicate the extent of my respect for your ability, 
power, and service, which have ever characterized 
your endeavors to promote public education. 



60 



From General George W. Wingate, former 

member of the Board of Education, 

and President, Public Schools 

Athletic League 



In congratulating you upon your appointment 
as Superintendent Emeritus I do so with mingled 
feelings of regret and pleasure; regret that the schools 
should be deprived of the powerful influence for their 
advancement, which you have exercised so ably 
during the many years you have been City Superin- 
tendent, and pleasure to think that you have at last 
considered what your health has for a long time re- 
quired, and that is freedom from the cares and re- 
sponsibilities of the position. 

You have done a noble work, in the most im- 
selfish manner, and in doing so have exhausted your 
strength. It is certainly time that you should re- 
cognize that you have done much more than you 
ought to have undertaken, and take the rest that is 
necessary to restore your health. I hope and believe 
this will be the result of your accepting the appoint- 
ment. 



61 



EDITORIAL COMMENTS 



From the Educational Review 



The retirement from active service of Dr. 
William H. Maxwell and his resignation under the 
provision of recently enacted law as Superintendent - 
Emeritus, close a distinguished and most effective 
career of public service. The Educational Review 
has, on more than one occasion, recorded its high 
appreciation of Dr. Maxwell's service to American 
education. Now that he is laying down his heavy 
burden and is no longer in the way of ambitious 
seekers after place and power, there is only praise and 
appreciation for his intellect, his character, and his 
public work. Dr. Maxwell has had too much intel- 
lectual pride to waste time in wrangling with his 
critics or in quarreling with his enemies. He has 
contented himself with going steadily forward on the 
path of progress that he had marked out, only paus- 
ing now and then to demolish opposition, either by 
a striking achievement or by an irrefutable argument, 
or by a phrase. What New York would have done 
without his guiding and directing mind in the form- 
ative years of the Greater City's school system, one 
can hardly imagine. That his fame is secure and the 
foundations that he has laid can neither be shaken 
nor removed, is certain, American education is pass- 



65 



ing through a curious phase of materialism, senti- 
mentaHsm, and crude philosophizing. It has lost a 
large part of the vigor and definiteness which char- 
acterized it until perhaps twenty years ago. Dr. 
Maxwell saw all this coming and struggled against 
it as best he could. The judicious historian of his 
career will likewise be a prophet of that return to 
sounder educational theory and better balanced edu- 
cational practise that must sooner or later reassert 
itself. 



66 



From The Globe 



By its action yesterday in electing Dr. William 
H. Maxwell Superintendent Emeritus at full salary, 
the Board of Education conferred a signal and well 
merited honor upon a man who for more than a gen- 
eration has served the schools faithfully and well. 
For eleven years as superintendent of the Brooklyn 
schools, and for twenty years as superintendent of 
the schools of the greater city, he has fought courage- 
ously and steadily to improve public education. 
This record is unique among the terms of city super- 
intendents of schools, at best a precarious position 
and one usually noteworthy for controversy and 
brief tenure. 

For more than a quarter of a century Dr. Max- 
well struggled to get into the school system manual 
training, physical training, cooking, sewing, and other 
hand subjects now recognized as vital in the schooling 
of every child. But this is only a small part of the 
record of his achievements. To him mainly are due 
the creation of professional standards for teachers 
and the establishment and maintenance unimpaired 
of a system of advancement of teachers upon the 
basis of merit, and not by reason of influence or politi- 



67 



cal "pull." He battled for years to establish and to 
extend the high schools, and during the last years of 
his service his contention has been justified in full 
measure by an extraordinary demand for education 
beyond the grammar grade. To him also is to be 
credited the opening of day and evening trade schools, 
the wider use of the school buildings, the organization 
of special classes for the mentally sub-normal, the 
crippled, the blind, and the deaf, the experiment with 
intermediate schools, the organization and develop- 
ment of schools for the professional training of teach- 
ers, and the organization of special classes for back- 
ward children. 

Rich in useful accomplishment but poor in 
health sacrificed to the public service, Dr. Maxwell 
now withdraws from actual service, subject to be 
called upon for advice or help. The Board of Edu- 
cation has done a gracious act that accords no doubt 
with the sentiment of the community. 

To find a successor to Dr. Maxwell is no easy 
task. The choice will be a test of the small Board of 
Education, to which the new state law intrusts the 
selection. 



68 



From the New York Herald 



With the retirement, compelled by failing health, 
of Dr. William H. Maxwell from the post of Super- 
intendent of Schools, the city loses an educator and 
administrator of highest rank. 

From the time he entered upon his duties, when 
the Greater New York was constituted in 1898, until 
his health gave way two years ago, he was tireless, 
day and night in working for the improvement of the 
schools, and even when not fitted for active service 
sent from his sick room valuable suggestions and 
advice. 

The present great and admirable public school 
system of New York is a testimonial to his energy, 
zeal, and ability, and his fellow citizens deeply regret 
the misfortune that makes it necessary to add "emer- 
itus" to the title he so many years bore with honor. 



69 



From the New York Times 



The oflfice of City Superintendent of Schools^ 
now made vacant by the retirement of Superintend- 
ent Dr. Wilham H. Maxwell, must be filled by the 
Board of Education. The task of the board is not 
an easy one. Dr. Maxwell was foremost among the 
country's organizers and directors of great school 
systems, and the high standards attained under his 
administration must be maintained. It is the most 
important educational post in the country, for there 
are more than 750,000 pupils in the public schools of 
New York. The education of these children, their 
training in good citizenship, the success of the effort 
to make them self-reliant Americans, worthy of their 
opportunities in this democratic land, depend upon 
the efficiency of the school system, for which the City 
Superintendent is so very largely responsible. 



70 



From The Brooklyn Citizen 

The action of the Board of Education yesterday 
in making Mr. Maxwell, Superintendent Emeritus, 
as provided for by law, will be approved by the in- 
telligent public. Mr. Maxwell's long services have 
been of a kind to entitle him to treatment of the most 
generous nature. For more than thirty years he has 
been engaged in the work of school superintendence, 
first in Brooklyn before the cities were consolidated, 
and ever since consolidation, as the head of the system 
of the whole city. It is no over-statement to say that 
it was impossible for any man to devote himself more 
whole-heartedly to his duties than Mr. Maxwell has 
done, or to be more effective. 

That the schools have not escaped adverse crit- 
icism in some respects, is true, but what is equally 
true is that to nearly every one of the things found 
fault with, Mr. Maxwell has been opposed. It would 
perhaps be somewhat misleading to characterize Mr. 
Maxwell as an educational reformer, but it is certain- 
ly not misleading to place him high in the list of the 
most enlightened educators of the past thirty odd 
years. There are no black marks against him. At 



71 



every turn and in every possible way the spectacle 
of his career has been that of an extraordinarily vig- 
orous mind devoted wholly to the promotion of good 
work. A review of his various endeavors to both 
solidify and strengthen the system of education, to 
obtain adequate school education, and to prevent 
unnecessary expenditures, will show that wherever 
else there may have been ground for complaint, there 
has been none in his case. As to the so-called poli- 
tical influences by which the schools have, according 
to some reports, from time to time been affected, it is 
at least evident that Mr. Maxwell never allowed any- 
thing of that nature to move him. 

The truth probably is, that the interference of 
the politicians was never of any great consequence, 
but whether it was or not, Mr. Maxwell had tact 
enough to get the right results, irrespective of any 
concessions made in any quarter to favoritism. In 
matters of this kind it should perhaps be said that 
those who comxplain most of the politicians, are gen- 
erally men who have sought and failed to obtain 
political backing. The really worthy servants of the 
public make few complaints of this nature. At all 
events, the broad fact appears that for more than 
thirty years Mr. Maxwell has been able to carry on 
his work in both Brooklyn and the consolidated cities 
without any trouble with politicians of any kind, his 
own manifest integrity and ability protecting him at 
all times against any attacks of that kind. 

That the action of the board yesterday was made 
necessary by the impaired health of Mr. Maxwell is 



72 



the chief thing to be regretted in connection with it. 
The city can well afford to deal fairly with so worthy 
a servant, and entertain the hope that he may live 
long to enjoy the evidence now furnished of its ap- 
preciation. That his health may improve under the 
lessened strain which the new arrangement must 
bring, must be the hope of every enlightened friend 
of the schools. 



73 



From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle 



Dr. Maxwell served the city as Superintend- 
ent for twenty years, in addition to his long serv- 
ice in the old City of Brooklyn. His great work 
was done not because of his familiarity with the local 
situation but because of his high and broad ideals 
of what fundamental education should be, and of his 
genius for leadership. If the right man is found he 
should be good for a term as long and fruitful as Dr. 
Maxwell's own. 



74 



From The New England Journal of 
Education 



On Monday, February 11, Superintendent 
William H. Maxwell, of New York City, of his own 
initiative, became Superintendent-Emeritus at a 
salary of $10,000. 

There is a phase of this action which deserves 
more than a passing notice. On the day that Arthur 
S. Somers became President of the New York City 
Board of Education, Dr. Maxwell said to him that 
he would be pleased to retire on such terms as the 
new Board of Education should elect. 

On the first day that William H. Maxwell taught 
in the United States — in the Brooklyn High School — 
Arthur S. Somers was in his class. 

From the day that Dr. Maxwell became Super- 
intendent of Brooklyn, Mr. Somers has been upon 
his Board of Education most of the time, serving on 
Dr. Maxwell's Board in Brooklyn and Greater New 
York, for more years than have any other three men. 
It was with genuinely delightful sentiment to both 
Dr. Maxwell and Mr. Somers that this retirement 
under such generous conditions took place. 



75 



From the American School Board Journal 



School boards, like other public administrative 
bodies, are commonly believed to be ungrateful and 
backward in rewarding meritorious service. The 
charge is not applied personally to members as such, 
and the claim could not be made if the laws and pre- 
cedents under which they must act officially permitted 
the men and women to do what their private feelings 
dictate. 

Quite graceful and altogether fitting for the city 
of New York is the recent action of the board of 
education in electing Dr. William H. Maxwell as 
Superintendent Emeritus with his full salary of 
$10,000 per year. But still more graceful and kindly 
is the tribute which President Somers spoke before 
voting the election. 



76 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1 




